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Sign the Petition to

Virginia Beach Mayor Will Sessoms

Hold the management of Virginia Beach animal control responsible and accountable for the death of Batman. Batman cannot die such a horrible death with no one caring. If you agree, please contact Virginia Beach Mayor Will Sessoms, Virginia Beach Police Chief James A. Cervera, Virginia Beach Police Deputy Chief of Operations Tony Zucaro and your Virginia Beach City Council representative. Tell them that this is unacceptable and that change must happen and must happen mmediately.

Signed,

Angela Maldon

This petition closed over 3 years ago

How this will help

Batman was a 10 years old large 90 pound American Staffordshire Terrier. His name was Batman. Batman was at the Virginia BeachAnimal Control facility where he was supposed to be taken care of and...

Batman was a 10 years old large 90 pound American Staffordshire Terrier. His name was Batman. Batman was at the Virginia BeachAnimal Control facility where he was supposed to be taken care of and where he was supposed to get a new life, after his family gave up on him. Batman was a boy who was loved by many of the volunteers at the shelter.

Batman was not put down due to space, or because he was sick or even because he was aggressive and un-adoptable. The shelter was not full and space was not an issue, Batman showed no signs of being sick and he was a very gentle giant who loved to be with anyone who would spend time with him. So you're probably asking yourself what happened to him. Why is he dead today? As it has been reported, a caregiver (those in charge of caring for the animals) put Batman outside midafternoon on Sunday. Batman was then forgotten outside, despite the fact that the caregivers are supposed to do a "bed check" to ensure that all dogs are in their kennel and accounted for prior to leaving for the day. If the check was done then how could this 90 pound, very large boy not be missed? He wasn't missed since he was left outside. Batman must have been confused at some point, wondering why no one came to let him in and why he was forced to stay out in the cold. If you remember, Sunday was a very cold day, the wind picked up around 5:00pm and the temperature dropped. The temperature continued to drop throughout the night. The temperature dropped to the mid or low 20's. Batman was outside this entire time, unable to get inside where it was warm, alone and confused, most likely even scared. At some point he couldn't take the cold any longer and he died, outside, in the dark and completely alone. Batman froze to death. What could this sweet boy have been thinking as he was dying? Did he know he was dying andwas he scared to be meeting the end? I have to imagine that the worst way to die is alone, hoping for someone to help you, but no one comes. You know something is wrong and you close your eyes for the last time. This was how Batman died, a terrible needless death that did not have to happen. Batman's death was due to those in charge of caring for him simply not caring enough, maybe rushing through the shelter so they could leave for the day and sit in the cozy warm house.

Batman was NOT discovered until late morning, around 10:30am or 11:00am. He was not discovered by any member of the shelter staff. He was discovered by a volunteer who went to see Batman and take him out for a nice morning walk. She was happy knowing that she would get to spend some time with this big guy that she had come to love. Instead, she found Batman outside, frozen to death, SIX hours after the morning check had been done to ensure that all dogs were in their kennel.

They killed Batman. They didn't do it humanely. They didn't euthanize him. They didn't even know he was dead until someone came in and told them. What will happen with the management that has become so lax that they let the shelter run itself, a management team who worries more about their days off than whether or not the animals are properly taken care of, a management team that won't walk through the kennels to see how many dogs have no water until a volunteer fills the water bowls. And what will happen to the shelter director who hardly ever leaves her office, a shelter director who volunteers have brought many issues to with nothing being done at all. Something, possibly someone, must change. Batman cannot die such a horrible death with no one caring. If you agree, please contact Virginia Beach Mayor Will Sessoms, Virginia Beach Police Chief James A. Cervera, Virginia Beach Police Deputy Chief of Operations Tony Zucaro and your Virginia BeachCity Council representative. Tell them that this is unacceptable and thatchange must happen and must happen immediately.